News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1887-12-15

| SIeeu SGTlD-
ped fruit made a pleasant sight to the
masters eyes as he leaned against the
rail fence and looked around him.
1t was all his-his by right of
honest toll, and he was to reap a
rich reward in round silver dollars.
Day by day he had worked in the field
by the side of his laborers, not despis-
ing the toll, but finding in it refuge
from his restless spirit. Now the har-
vest time had come; many of the lus-
cious melons lying before him had been
re1dy & tiy I2IsdfGid fi; TO diSr s9t in \ Nafa
was making before the perfect beauty
of his field should be broken. But on
the absorbed face of the man there was
no attention, his ears were not open to
these voices of the twilight. eff Har-
ry'd lived" he said, ''this woulda
sent i'm to college this year"
A darkness came over his face, and he
took his arm restlessly from the fence.
"Ill do it yit," he muttered. "Noth-
in but Harry KEEP me back all these
years. l reckon Harry's got hold O the
trigger, else hit would gone off that
night in the woods"
A hopeless look came into his eyes as
he turned and placed his other arm on
the fence.
'I don reckon I'll even kill him, but
sometimes hit looks like I've got to, he
muttered. His face was sad and dark,
but not bad. There was q well-spring
of goodness within him, but drop of
bitterness had tainted the sweet waters
"My Godl" he said, "what do dig an
hoe an plant fer2 Matty amt no good
an I amt no good. Her an Harry was
the only ones wuth ivin', an they're
over thar in the buryin' -groun'."
While he had been thinking half
aloud there had been a low sound of
sobbing which now reached his ears.
He came back from the graves of his
wife and child with a start of terror, as
though some supernatural voice had
called him.
"What's that2" he said, then listened
eagerly, so that he might locate the
sound. In a moment it came again, the
low crying of q tired, frightened child.
| Nathan sprang over the fence, SO that
he might walk without trampling his
vines; he hurried along, following the
sound of the sobbing until he reached a
certain point in the fence where the
rails were out of place. There it was.
He looked over into his precious patch
and saw a child lying on the vines, part
ly hidden by them, with its little curly
head resting ON melon. "Well, I'll be
blamed" Nathan cried, as he sprang
across the fence into the melon field,
''if that ar don beat me-
The child raised it's face, the eyes
floating in tears, and the mouth puck
cred with crying. The little arms went
up to the stranger, and burst of JOY
GUS crying gave him welcome Nam
my"
Nathan was not NANNY but he was
pappy, and he picked up the little one
and wiped the eyes, mouth and cheeks
with his ocket-handkerchief;
"Whar'd you come from youngster,
an how'd yer get in my melon patch 2"
There was something so pitiful about
the little four year old, so far from
home, and Nathan could see by the part
in the hair that he held a boy in his
arms, SO he kissed the little mouth from
which the grief had not yet vanished
Brighten up" he said, "an' laugh
at feller. What's yo' namel"
But the boy would not answer, so Ma
than tossed him up in the air, tickled
him, sat him on the fence and tried to
talk "baby talk" Then he pumped
him down on to a water melon, while he
fished in his pockets for an apple. He
found one and then the child laughed.
This was the beginning of sport; in a
moment the boy was on his feet, chas-
ing Nathan; round and round they ran,
trampling the vines and bruising the
melons, but they were both so happy
what did they care? When
they were tired they sat down together
in the corner of the fence and the child's
head rested against Nathan's arm. How
good, how sweet it was to have a baby
near him-an innocent heart that resteG
against his, trusting him as though he
had been good and pure. He wa.
tempted to take this child home with
him and hide it there while he feasted
his heart with pure happiness for ,
little while. 1t should be his Harr,
come back for a day or two, then ht
would give the little one to those VIII,
had right to claim him. He visite,
so little at the neighboring farm house
that he could not know to whom tn
child belonged. Why should he seek I
know just yet? He had been bereft s,
! long. Why could they not wait little
while he kept the boy for few hour
in his own childless heartI He ha
half determined to do this, or at least t
, wait until inquiry was made, when h
spoke:
"Hit's gittin' late an we must /
a-goin' home. Come on, honey"
"Want nanny" the child pleaded